Timeless Mystery
by black7kunoichi
Summary: He was the greatest detective of all skills. He solved over hundreds of cases after a week of receiving each of them - and it was a feat that no one had ever achieved until now. The case that had been offered to him - this case was by far, the strangest he had ever come across. NALU One shot. Modern AU. Mention of Gray Mystery fic - 2-chapter oneshot COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys,**

 **It has been a while. So I've gathered inspiration after watching my siblings play riddles. Kinda weird when inspiration hits you hard in the face, huh? Or is it just me?**

 **I will be releasing the next chapters of my other stories on Friday. I have a lot of things going on at work but I will still find the time to make sure both of these plots sees the end!** **  
** **Anyway, please continue to read this masterpiece. lol**

 **DISCLAIMER: Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

* * *

Natsu Dragneel was considered an exceptionally mastermind when it came to solving crimes and cases when there seemed to be no hope at all at cracking one. All over Magnolia, his name was well renounced in every business. If that doesn't ring a bell, it was his persona that made him unique from other underlings who deemed themselves as so-called 'detectives'. Of course, he would always take the top list of the most reputable individual in the criminal world. One of the things that also sets him apart was his timeline with a case.

He never allowed a case to go unsolved after a week, something that really makes him stand out apart from his persona. Speaking about his persona, he had naturally salmon-colored hair that at first glance, would seem unruly and unkempt. That matter is true. But that is what throws other newbie's off. Not many people knew what the "Natsu Dragneel" looked like. No one had actually paired his name with his face. Of course, except those closest to him. He had dark olive eyes and surprisingly, fangs like dragons, as one of his colleagues expressed.

So of course, this made solving cases easy. A lack of identity meant a lack of presence. This would make blending into the crowd much easier. So yes, he was a man of many things and many achievements.  
One of his most distinguished cases was the solving of a case called the Infinity Clock. Along with his team, they had discovered other links to this supposedly singular case. And it was one that he didn't dare to expect, especially professionally speaking from his perspective. Nevertheless, after he submitted his findings to the headquarters, there was a wave of respect after that case. However, Natsu knew better because there was something else he found whilst rummaging through the history of this bizarre case.

The Infinity Clock had a strange twist.

His case was given to him by the coroner. It was wrapped in a thick manila binder with all sorts of documents escaping every crook and corner. He didn't fail to hide his surprise when the weight of the folder seemed almost like a bag of packed alcohol.

"Headquarters weren't sure whether to pass this to you. But you seem promising with most of your breakthroughs including the case with Infinity Clock." Natsu looked down and briefly evaluated the mystery the folder contained.

"How about a brief summary before I open Pandora's Box?" The pinkette requested. Resting the folder on his lap. The coroner nodded.

"This case dates back to X777 on July 7. There had been sightings of the Heartfilia Estate being occupied at the last room on the third floor." A photograph was supplied with the estate sitting hauntingly in its derived state, but a light stood out at the room mentioned.

"It had been searched before. The warrant that was issued dated at least 20 years after the dynasty had fallen. This photograph that was taken, was received last week. Witnesses says that the room where the light comes from belonged to the sole heiress of the Heartiflia." Natsu eyed the photograph.

"But she disappeared after the death of Layla Heartfilia. Age seven. There was no trace." The pink-haired added. This was very unusual. He was eight when the revelation of the Heartfilia Corporation made headlines. And now, it's been 21 years since then.

"That's right. But you see, during that period, the light of that room never failed to turn on. We had sent some personnel to address the problem by scouting the area and securing the perimeter for any pranksters or unidentified civvies but the room always lit up." The old man paused, "However, we did send one of our officers into the room and..." Natsu looked up to the old man who had a pressing expression on his face.

"She didn't come out. When they went inside the room, there wasn't a trace." Natsu leaned back on his chair.

"Wouldn't this be something more of an exorcist problem?" The old man nodded.

"True, but there was something about the estate that prevented them from entering. A small box mind you. And there is one more problem that created such an uproar in the Head Office." Natsu raised an eyebrow as the old man stared directly at him.

"Sir?"

"There was a request written in blood on the mirror. It was your name, Natsu Dragneel."

* * *

That happened two weeks ago. Now, Natsu sat in the same room as the photograph told. The team that entered this building with him went missing on the first week. He had called to the office to request for their assistance, but the Coroner had confirmed that he hadn't pulled them out of the mission. To support this, there were even camera's set up outside the estate that acted as an alibi of the team going in and not leaving - in which Natsu noted that the time on the camera was flicking funnily. Ever since then, he dared not enter the room where the light shone but since he was getting desperate for answers, he made a move.

Ultimately, he hulled his equipment out of the door and in the hallway, glared at it one more time before closing the door. He was finally alone with whatever was in there.  
The room that the witnesses claimed was fairly large. It was big enough as a large studio. It had its own bathroom, a bed, kitchenette and living room. A small writing desk accompanied with a chair was at the far end of the room, right beside the fire place.  
He decided to sit on the floor - at least to pay respect to whoever dwelt in that room.

"I don't know who you are or how you know my name, but I'm here." There was a moment of agonizing silence. Feeling a bit silly for talking to himself, the pink-haired male reached inside his jacket and pulled out a small notebook and a pen.

"You requested for me. And I'm here. You took my team. And yet I'm still here. I think you owe me a conversation or two." Still nothing. Leaning against the wall, the male viewed the room again. It was really old. Of course, no maintenance was evident as far as about twenty years ago. So surely there was-

A scratching sound.

He trained his ears to listen. Forcing his heart to calm down and his breathing to blend into the atmosphere. He swore he heard-

Scratch.

"Where are you?" The scratching sound seemed to be coming from the floorboard. Quickly, he got up and scanned the floorboards for any sign of life. Then, he realized it was coming from beneath where he stood. Immediately, he took a few steps back and readied himself to attack whatever was below. The floorboard moved! With a pounding heart and shaking resolve, the pinkette watched with utter suspense as the floorboard suddenly dipped. Now there was a perfectly squared area of pure darkness.

"Hello?" He tried again.

Scratch.

"I didn't think you'd fall for that one." A voice came from behind him. Upon reflex, the pink haired male jumped away from source, successfully landing on the bed as far as he could. There was a girl sitting where he once stood. About the same age as him. She seemed completely unfazed by his short outburst of shock. Her golden blonde hair was tied into a loose bun, with strands falling to frame her face. She wore a plain yellow strapless dress that ended just above her knees with white ruffles on the hem. Her brown eyes bore straight into his, as if laughing with mirth at him.

But he couldn't see her legs. Despite seated in plain sight in front of him, just after her knees was a clear transparent area where he could see the rest of the floorboards. Suddenly, he felt the feeling in his bottom leg get loose until he slumped on the bed in a frantic mess.

"You're...you...your legs..." His mouth was sputtering all kinds of words to overcome the shock. The girl watched him and laughed at his sudden change of mood.

"If Gray saw you now, he'd be having the time of his life." The girl giggled as she watched him.

"But seriously, who says 'hello'? That is the most stupid thing humans ever say when they enter this estate."

* * *

That was when they first met. Sometimes, speaking with the girl had removed all worries and fears in his heart and mind, and somehow, it didn't feel like a job anymore. Doing all this detective stuff seemed like a hobby. But funnily enough, whenever it came for the time to turn the light on, she always made him to sleep outside the room. Something had caught his eyes after looking down at his watch - he took a mental note.  
They were walking outside of the Estate, she was showing him the areas where it would hold bountiful parties fit for a king. She strode over and stuck a playful tongue out at him before strutting away proudly.  
He didn't understand.

"Come on, I'll show you my favorite tree. This should kick in some memories." The male raised an eyebrow with confusion but still followed after the blonde. Before leaving the front door, she turned around to lock the estate with a set of golden keys, something that raised another eyebrow at this antic.

She led him to the back of the estate, with only a single tree standing tall and proud with its leaves and flowers budding abundantly. Regardless, he still didn't understand what was going on.

"You sent this as a gift after finding out I was sick. Your dad was very unhappy when he discovered that his son had ordered the tree to be uprooted and sent to the Heartfilia residence." The blonde giggled. Running towards him and he wrapped his arms around her so she won't fall.

That's weird. Wasn't his hands supposed to go through him? She squeezed and laughed with utter delight.

He still didn't understand what it meant. Did he have a past life with this girl?

* * *

Now it was getting late. She led him over to her room again, unlocking the room with the same set of keys that she used that afternoon. It seemed like they were going to turn the light on. Curiously, he turned to her whilst she fiddled with the switch. That was weird. She usually tells him to wait outside the room. Looking to check his watch, it was nearly time.

"Why do you turn the light on?" She looked at him with an innocent expression plastered on her face. A thoughtful look, he suppose. Before giving him a shy smile.

"So that you would find me." Then she turned the light on. "I needed to get your attention. Somehow. And since I was restricted to this building, I only had this room that would work." Then Natsu realized that there was something on the bed. It was...

"Yup. Thats me. Lucy Heartfilia. Alive and well in the flesh."

* * *

"But how? Everything makes no sense!" He said, flicking through the folder that was given to him by the Coroner. It made absolutely no sense to him. There were pages indicating the death of all associated members of the Hearfilia Estate. And what more, this girl on the bed was just his age, healthy and alive. He couldn't stop glancing from the folder to her sleeping face. After the shock, he advanced to the sleeping teen and checked her state. Sure enough, she was alive and well. Her skin was warm when he touched her wrist and the rising and falling of her chest explained that she was alive.

"I don't know. I don't know whether I'm dead or alive or halfway." she replied anxiously, just standing a few distance behind the male who was checking over the body on the bed. Boldly, she took a step forward and looked down on the sleeping counterpart of herself.

"That's why I needed your attention. I heard you were the greatest person. Thats why I needed you." He turned abruptly around to face her.

"What about the blood? Where did that come from? And my team?" She shook her head in response.

"The blood belonged to Michelle. The sargent who entered this room and didn't leave-"

"Where is Michelle? Oh god - did you kill her?" Natsu interrupted her, taking a shaking step back and hitting the dressing table. The girl before him shook her head and sat sadly on the bed.

"Michelle was helping me to reach you. Please know that Michelle and I were good friends before the devastating event occurred. To seek justice, she offered to assist in everyway that she can in order to bring you to me." The blonde girl thumbed the bed sheets before reaching towards a doll that sat idly on the bed. Brown curls and an empty smile and readjusted the doll on the bed.

"In order to preserve her life, I only asked for a bit of her blood to write on the walls outside before sending her away. Michelle was more than willing to see this operation through. Afterwards, she requested to see her mother so I released her from the contract with the Heartfilia Estate." With this, she brought up her set of keys and held it in front of her, dangling the pieces in the dimmed lights of the room.

"What about my team? Where are they?" Natsu watched her carefully. She stood up and made her way over to the pinkette and stood before him.

"No team entered this place. After you all arrived, your boss had called for them to withdraw individually to avoid suspicion if they all withdrew on the first night-"

"Bullshit. He told me that he never issued any command of the sort. And the video-"

"Was taken three years ago. Did you not realize that?" Suddenly, memories of viewing the video was brought fresh to his mind. The flicking of the time. The suspicion. The disappearance. His eyes glanced to the sleeping girl on the bed. Then back to the supposedly girl before him who was waiting anxiously. Still trying to process the information inside his head, he took a deep breath and sighed defeatedly.

"How do I help?"

* * *

"Well... do you think it will work?" The blonde asked as she watched him writing the rest of his reports into the notebook. It wasn't much, it was more like updating day by day operations that he did with his work. Right now, he had been planning on how to awaken this Lucy person that only shows when the light is turned on at night. It had been an extra four days since his shocking discovery of this fact. And ever since then, he had been working aimlessly around the clock to figure out the connections with the light and why she only appeared at night.

"I'd like to think we have a chance actually." He replied, finally finishing his report before closing his notebook and the manila binder that lay under his notebook. Checking his watch once again.

"What does that even mean?" She sat on the edge of the bed whilst looking outside. It was almost night. Almost time for them to turn the light on. There was a shuffling of paper and bags being zipped. Curiously, she turned her head to watch him put away his things inside the bag before watching as he grabbed his bags and place them outside the room.

"I don't know. We just have to test all our theories." He replied, locking the door and running a tired hand through his pink locks. He was almost out of food and there was only enough left to last another week. He would need to finish this quickly before he starved of starvation.

"So what are we doing tonight?" In response, he shrugged his shoulders before walking back to the desk and seating himself down on the wooden chair. He placed an elbow on the desk and leaned his head onto his palm.

"Why do you turn the light on? Is there a specific reason why you turn the light on at a certain time?"

"Not really," The girl replied with a shake of her head. "I can turn the light on at any time during the night. And for its reasons... well, I'm not quite sure. I've never realized why. But my body just moves on its own." Natsu turned his head away and looked at the now-empty bed.

"Do you have any reason why you are outside your body?" The girl shook her head again,

"No clue."

Silence protruded the room and Natsu watched as the girl just sat there looking outside. A few minutes had passed until a singular thought passed his mind.

"You mentioned the first time we met, that _'Gray'_ would have the time of his life if he saw me. Who is he?" A couple of seconds passed and she turned slowly to face him.

"It really serves no purpose if I explained it to you because it holds no significant value. Well, to you and to this operation. I fail to see how that would help the current situation at hand."

"Still, I need to know who and what is associated with you." There was a deep breath of empty air.

"Gray Fullbuster was your second in command. A man as cold as ice yet deep inside, his heart was like lukewarm water. Both of you would always cause a ruckus wherever. And were both entire idiots with no sense of shame." She replied with a little chuckle at the end. Standing up, she moved towards the switch and fumbled with the light.

"He died trying to protect me. But ever since, I have not known of whether he truly died or is just like me. Wandering." And with that, she switched the light on. Natsu glanced down at his watch. Then, he took a step forward to reach towards the doll that sat on the bed, turning the doll over in his hands.

"Can I just take a look?" The blonde gave a bored look before shrugging her shoulders.

"Sure."

* * *

"Okay. You seem to talk as if we both knew each other. I'm sorry but I've never seen you before." Last night, nothing had changed. It was almost the same. The light turned on and the figure appeared in bed. Natsu watched until the morning sunlight crept through the mountains, until the figure slowly disappeared like smoke from a teacup. That was one theory down.

"We did. Apparently, so I think. I'm not sure anymore." She replied, twirling the flower that she had plucked from earlier that day. They had done nothing the entire afternoon except laze around in the sun and soaking up its warm embrace. The cool breeze of the early evenings blew softly. She held it up towards the light before putting it down. "I'm not confident anymore about all this."

"We will figure something out." He said, taking a step towards the blonde that sat on the garden chair. Hastily, she gathered her yellow dress and made her way towards where he stood at the entrance. Halfway, she tripped on a loose rock and squealed with surprise. Natsu darted towards her and helped picking her off the ground and cleaning the soil from her dress. Trying to fight the chuckle that crawled to his throat. He looked at her with mirth and amusement in his eyes. She looked cute with that face.

"That looked like it hurt." Natsu joked, "I didn't take you as the clumsy type." Seeing her flinch with main as the loose rock has managed to tear a certain part of her dress and cause a nasty swelling on her ankle. The blonde turned to glare at him.

"Shut up." And with a light dust on her cheeks, she accepted his assist and finally gained confidence to walk back to the estate. Even if it meant painfully hurting her foot instead of her pride. But she will not allow this man to see that.

He checked his watch.

"We should probably head over to your room for your nightly grand entrance." He spoke, following closely behind her.

* * *

"Wow. Wonder what really is going on, huh?" The blonde spoke whilst her companion was sitting at the desk writing in his little notebook. He hadn't said a single word. They spent the afternoon doing nothing again. Except for him. After the ordeal last night, he immediately went outside, grabbed his notebook and sat at the desk writing whatever came to mind, ignoring the pretty girl that was on the bed.

The blonde sat with boredom on the bed. It seemed as if the long day couldn't go by faster. Suddenly, she went still for a few seconds before sitting up slowly and turning to face the pinkette writing on her desk.

"Do you believe in love?" The scratching sound of his pen on the page went still. He looked at her with a calculating gaze. In response, the blonde girl felt her cheeks heating up with embarrassment.

"Not really. I just don't think much about it." And he went back to writing.

"D-do you have someone that you love?"

There was a pregnant pause before he opened his mouth again. "Had would be a more corrective term. But she died a few years back."

"I'm sorry for asking."

"Don't worry too much. I'm over it." Then the silence dropped again.

* * *

Evening rolled over once more and the two found themselves sitting on the floor side by side. Waiting for the night to fall again. He had finished writing in his notebook and made sure to put it away in the bag that laid outside the door. He eyed the room once more and made a glance to the blonde who sat next to him with the same yellow dress. His eyes followed further down to her legs. It had taken him a while to realize that he could see her legs, unlike the first time they met. Noting a change in her legs, he made a mental note in his head before turning straight and closing his eyes.

"I'm sorry for this. I'm just losing a lot of hope so I'm down to what's left." Her voice pierced through his thoughts. Snapping his eyes open, he turned to her,

"Don't be sorry. Hope is all you have now." He replied. It wasn't that he meant to say it in a mean way but it was best to just get things over with. Not even realizing that the more the hours flew, the more he just grew a sense of making sure that he was doing the right thing.

"So, should I do the honors of switching the light?" She asked, and the male shrugged his shoulders in response. Nevertheless, the blonde girl climbed to the wooden post and flicked the switch on. As expected, the body lay on the bed where it had always since he started taking keen observations. He glanced down at his watch once again to double check.

"Have you gathered anything yet? You're going to run out of food soon." She softly spoke, walking towards her counterpart who lay on the bed. The blonde looked down on herself and slowly touched a piece of stranded golden lock that lay on the pillow. Silently, the pinkette observed in silence as the scene unfolded in front of him.

"More or less." He replied, getting up and making his way over to the blonde standing next to her bed. With her body lying on the mattress. Unconsciously, he placed a hand on her shoulder. With the contact, she turned slightly to glance at the pinkette who stared down on the figure lying on the bed.

"Just one more night. And I'll tell you what I found. From that point on, the choice is yours." There was a moment of silence before the blonde turned back to face the front. A tear started spilling down her flushed cheeks and then it turned to a sob. Instinctively, the pinkette turned her around and gathered her in his arms, rubbing soothing circles on her back. He mentally noted how small she was, compared to his large figure. Even then, he thought she was very attractive.

"Will I see you again?" She asked timidly. Immediately, the small ministration on her back stopped abruptly. Her heart pounded with shame at her bold question. He gently removed himself from her and looked her right in the eyes.

"I don't know. But I already promised that I'll help you." Tears began to swell in the corner of her eyes and immediately, she squeezed her eyes shut and offered a big smile.

"This had been fun." He watched as she forced herself to smile through her tears.

"Sitting around all day and all night? Sure." He replied.

* * *

He wasn't prepared. After the morning passed, she had grabbed him by the hand and brought him to the place outside where they spent the other afternoon lying about. Her face was flushed with excitement and he could feel the energy emitting from her. After leading him to the same spot where she tripped, the blonde grabbed both of his hands and squeezed it affectionately. However, all the excitement disappeared when she mustered up the courage to speak.

"Before you go. I just want to thank you for everything you've done for me." He nodded slowly at her claim. He was used to this kind of stuff. Especially with how things had turned out for her. And it won't be long till he can go back home instead of sleeping on cold stones.

"And... after all the times we spent here in the estate, I grew to love you."

"..."

"I love you, Natsu Dragneel."

* * *

"It's okay if you don't return my feelings. I just want to let you know before we go our separate paths. I just know that we won't see each other anymore so, go hard or go home, right?" He didn't reply as she continued talking.  
He still didn't give an answer since she confessed that morning. It just didn't sit right with him. She couldn't be serious, right?

His attention turned to the blonde who had walked away from him and stared up towards the sky.

"I can't remember how long I have been stuck like this. With the same thing happening every night. I didn't know what to do. Until I heard about you. I just knew that you would be able to do something." Silence still remained between the two.

"Say something, idiot." Natsu remained quiet. He already knew why she wanted him to talk. She needed noise to drown out her silent sobs.

* * *

He watched as she appeared before him with a smile on her face. Judging from her face, she had furiously wiped away the tears before meeting him again for the last time. Her face was red with vigorous wiping. He sighed before stepping towards her.

"Lucy, this is the last night. I will explain everything to you once the time comes." He slowly spoke. Opening the door and taking the bag that laid outside, he brought his stuff inside the room before locking the door. Zipping open the contents, he revealed the little notebook that he had been noting down since his arrival inside the estate. He took out a small iron box and a milky-coloured orb that glowed.

"And with your feelings... I'm learning love again. If you're gonna be patient with me, then I know that I can love again and perhaps, learn to love you." He continued. It was true. He did find the blonde very attractive, but right now, he wasn't sure if he was ready to open his heart to someone who probably doesn't exist. Regardless, she stared up at him before giving a bright smile.

"Of course." She replied excitedly.

The evening breeze blew once more. Natsu had shifted the writing desk and chair over to the bed and Lucy watched with curiosity as he placed his small notebook, the small iron box and the milky orb on the table. After a slight hesitation, he also reached into his bag and pulled out the thick manila folder before turning to the blonde.

"I guess this is it huh," She said, as he made his way over to her.

"The keys. Do you mind if I use your keys?" This surprised the blonde. Her keys? Slowly, she reached down and plucked the bundle of keys from beside her. It dangled as it dropped inside the palm of the pinkette's hand.

"Just be careful." She said, watching as he placed it beside the iron box.

Finally, the time for the evening rolled and the blonde girl jumped off her seat and made her way to the wooden post. Finger on the switch, she turned her head to look at the pinkette, who nodded. As the light switch on, the body appeared on the bed and the girl made her way over to Natsu, who stood and offered the chair to the blonde.

"So, this is it?" She said, taking a seat. Natsu looked down at her before opening the manila binder. He paused before grabbing his phone and switching to the recording application. Pressing the red button before he began this findings. Before he started, he checked his watch once more before beginning his discussion.

"Lucy Heartfilia. Your history states that the Heartfilia Estate had been run down until X777 on July 7. That same day, Layla Heartfilia had passed away and her daughter, had disappeared without a trace. Correct?" He paused at one sheet of paper before turning the next page. The blonde before him nodded meekly.

"Ever since then, the light for this room never failed to turn on at certain times of the night. Provided that then, the body of Lucy Heartfilia will appear in flesh and alive on the bed. Taking note that even though more than twenty years have passed, the body of Lucy Heartfilia continues to age. Despite only appearing in the evenings."

The blonde seated on the chair frowned. "Hey, you're talking as if I'm not even sitting in front of you."

"But, this is where my theories have unravelled. I had five clues that lead to my hypothesis of the situation. And all five had been confirmed." He paused. Taking a look at the blonde in front of him.

"My first clue: the sunlight. According to Lucy Heartfilia's case, her body does not show the sun sets. According to greek mythology, this situation would be named 'daughters of the evening', where the sun setting can only bring forth the daughter of the stars. Which in this case - Lucy Heartfilia." The blonde watched as he flipped into his notebook.

"The second clue: anything that affects the spiritual body of Lucy Heartfilia, also affects the body. This was brought to my attention when Ms. Heartfilia tripped on a loose rock, during the late afternoon. A swelling and purple bruising on her leg appeared on her physical body. Therefore confirming a link between parallel universes with the physical, mental and spiritual areas of the vessel."

"Vessel? What are you talking about?" But the boy only brought a finger to his lips.

"Third clue. Magic. After the incident with Ms Heartfilia getting hurt, the next day, the swelling and bruising had disappeared. And..." He looked towards the doll lying on the bed, "there is suspicion that soul transfusion may have been used. As there had been no sighting of Sgt. Michelle since entering this room, Ms. Heartfilia had stated that she had _'released Michelle from her contract with the Heartfilia Estate._ " And that the blood written on the mirror belonged to Michelle. However, after I had asked to look at the doll, I had intently pricked the hands and blood bled out of the doll." He flipped the small notebook. Eyes not leaving the blonde who was shocked at his claims.

"Fourth clue: Keys. In all places that Ms. Heartfilia and I have been wondering, she always carried a set of golden keys. Upon closer inspection, they are the keys to the gates of the Spirit World. Or the celestial world. Knowing this fact, the possibility of magic grows stronger."

"And my last clue. Date and time."

The blonde had a small smile. "Date and time? Now that's something new." The pinkette seemed unfazed by this comment, instead, he grabbed a lock of blonde hair from the bed. His eyes settled on the sleeping figure.

"Ever since I arrived, I was shown a footage of the team and I entering the premises. You mentioned about the video being three years old and that gave me the last and final clue. Every day I spent in the estate, time moves on, life moves on. As usual right? But not in this case. As the sun sets, time stops and life also stops." He glanced at the blonde figure sitting on the chair,

"You see, every time the sun sets, time will always turn back to the year of X777 on July 7, the day of your disappearance and of your mother's death. And the reason why your body physically appears, is because that was the last thing that happened before you disappeared. That explains why you never wake up. You slept during your disappearance."

* * *

 **This is actually a one-shot. The last chapter will be revealed in the next hour. So only two chapters for this oneshot. I hope you enjoyed this piece.**

 **And I will be revealing the hypothesis in the last chapter.**

 **Lots of love,**

 **B7K**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi guys!**

 **As promised, I have released the last chapter in the same day!**

 **Shocker.**

 **Kind blessings to the first two reviewers. Honestly. You guys are angels!  
Thanks Danielle!**

 **OMG Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. Thank you Hiro Mashima for your wonderful work, even the current one (Eden's Zero) has got me hooked.**

 **Without further ado.**

* * *

Preview _:_

 _"You see, every time the sun sets, time will always turn back to the year of X777 on July 7, the day of your disappearance and of your mother's death. And the reason why your body physically appears, is because that was the last thing that happened before you disappeared. That explains why you never wake up. You slept during your disappearance."_

* * *

Natsu Dragneel paused as the blonde girl had reached up and covered her arms. Hands shaking and fear was plastered all over her face like a second skin. She was scared. Absolutely terrified by this fact. The pinkette made a move to walk towards the shaking girl that stumbled on the floor. Her panic brown eyes snapped towards him in fear and her mouth gasped in his sudden movements. He stopped, kneeled down and stared at her with worry in his eyes.  
His heart pounded with protectiveness of seeing her so worked up. Seeing her in this frenzied state.

"Lucy. Calm down. I won't hurt you." He spoke softly, inching closely to her, little by little, slowly attempting to gain her trust. His movements were a bit unsure but still, he managed his way over to her.

Her eyes slowly lifted to the sleeping girl lying on the bed. Her grip around her arms squeezed tightly on her skin, but her mouth was bit shut, the taste of coppery blood was evident in her mouth. Her body shook with full anxiety and fear.

"Lucy. Lucy. Listen to me, there is still a way." He watched as the words seeped into the blonde in front of him. Slowly, she released her grip, showing the evident half-moons from her nails that had been embedded into her skin. The teeth marks on her bottom lip and a small trail of blood at the corner.

"A way? How can there be a way, Natsu? I slept in my death!" She yelled, tears cornering in her eyes and threatening to fall. The true harsh reality sinking into her mind.

"I still haven't finished explaining to you why this happened." He replied, finally finding the courage to approach her. She didn't flinch as he placed a hand on her head and softly, ruffling her blonde hair. Silence followed after before he turned around and glanced into his notebook.

"A few times ago, I had finished a case named the Infinity Clock. It was discovered as a magic item and secret property of a church. The item was dismantled into six pieces that was scattered and sealed. It also contained a dark magic that greatly distorts the perception of time for people, bringing them madness and creating chaos." With this, he picked up the iron box from the writing desk and showing it to Lucy.

"Whilst on the case, I stumbled upon this small iron box that was sealed in the church. Namely, the Priest's room. It had twelve key locks but I couldn't get it to unlock. No matter how many times I've tried. I've mentioned it only briefly to my boss, but he told me to keep it. And now, I think I know why." Then he placed it back on the desk.

"Between Infinity Clock and the case now, there is a variable that is shared. Can you guess what it is?" The blonde looked at the iron box, and then she glanced at the pinkette, who was staring at her with a calculating gaze.

"Time."

He grinned. "Correct." With this, he also pulled out the orb that rested on the desk. There was a calculating look on his face that made her toes curl.

"In mythologies, Aion was a Hellenistic deity associated with time, the orb encompassing the universe and the zodiacs. The infinity clock had this orb embedded in the centre. Isn't that quite ironic?" He placed the orb back onto the table and then took a step to pick up the golden set of keys.

"Infinity clock generally means endless time. The orb was gathered from Infinity Clock and the fact that this iron box was found sealed generally makes you wonder about the connections with the orb, the infinity clock and the iron box. Until of course, you showed me the next clue." He dangled the keys. "And the fact that your keys represents each zodiac, I must say, I did not see this coming-"

"What has that got to do with me, Natsu? I'm still stuck in this body, wavering around like a lost leaf until something happens." Lucy interrupted. But the pinkette chuckled lightly, this earned a glare from the blonde girl.

"I'm getting there, princess." He settled the set of keys in front of her, returned back to the table and grabbed the iron box and the orb. After placing all three artefacts in front of the blonde, he settled on the opposite side of her with his phone, still recording his theory.

"Now, you have a box, a set of keys of zodiacs and an orb of time. I had told you that you slept during your disappearance but I still haven't explained I explain this, you will be able to understand why I said you have a choice that is yours to make." He took a deep breath before proceeding,

"As I mentioned previously before, you are the daughter of night. Like Nyx, the goddess of the night but also the daughter of chaos and death and she is often portrayed as the stars in accordance with her ending the daytime and bringing the night. Hence why you only appear when night comes and disappear when night ends. When you slept, your physical body died and your spiritual form began a new life. But there's a way to overcome this boundary."

He pushed the key towards the blonde. Who only briskly gathered the cold metal into her palms. Her brown eyes looked questioningly at the pinkette who offered an assuring smile in return.

"Lucy. The keys in your hands are the bridges between night and day, as such with death or life. Your being is neither fiction nor fact. Just a fabric of time that hasn't decided whether to completely materialize into reality or just become another figment of imagination. A gate between realms. A door to universes." The said blonde gripped the keys tightly. "Quite honestly, I think that the bundle of keys are what's holding you in the middle."

"And the box?" This made the male to shut his mouth. He sighed dementedly and looked at the blonde,

"I don't know. That's why I said that after all these things, you will be given a choice to make and right now. The choice is yours of whether to open the box or not. I don't know where this box fits in this theory - that's why I hadn't figured a valid explanation for its use. I don't know."

"That's obvious. I shouldn't open-"

A pulse from the box sounded loudly in the room. Both occupants looked down to the box. Nothing but silence ensured the air and the blonde darted her eyes to her sleeping counterpart. Natsu narrowed his eyes down at the box. Was there something else he missed?  
Suddenly, a large gust of wind swept into the room, and the opened binder flicked through numerous pages until a single page drifted to where they were. A picture. The keys in her hands dropped, making a resonating sound inside the room.

"Natsu... where did you get that picture?" The said pinkette swallowed thickly before he opened his mouth.

"I don't know."

There laid in front of them, was a picture of the same box opened with a human heart inside.

* * *

Wait.

What?

Whose heart-

Immediately, Natsu stood up and ran to the bed where the blonde girl slept. Without hesitation, he pushed the fabric of her clothes slightly down and pressed his ears to her chest, ignoring the uneven skin because of the swell of her breast. He closed his eyes and focused his attention in his ears. Commanding for the blood in his ears to stop its rushing flow.

There was no beat.

He pushed further into her chest but despite it, he couldn't hear anything. Yes, she was warm and soft. Alive. Her chest still rose and fell with breathing. But this person was lacking a heart. Lucy had fallen to the ground after seeing the picture, her legs buckling under her.

"Natsu...?" Her voice was timid was fear and anxiety.

He couldn't believe it. He thought he had everything figured out. But now, they both knew that her heart was inside the iron box that still lay on the floor with the orb and golden keys. He had observed everything in the room and analyzed each information and document in the manila binder. He had not seen that photograph before. Where did it come from?

"I've decided to open the box." He whipped around and rushed back to where she had fallen. She couldn't be serious. After seeing a picture of what was in the box, she was crazy enough to say such absurd things. No. He won't allow her to do something as ridiculous as this.

"You can't. What if this whole picture was a lie? What if it belonged to someone else? It doesn't fit right with everything that I had explained to you. It makes no sense anymore-"

"I've made my choice, Natsu. I'm going to open it." The pinkette shook his head. Instead, he slumped to the ground next to her and pressed a stressed face into his hands. Lucy slowly moved in front of him quietly. Watching and waiting.

"No, I still need to figure this box out. I don't know why it is involved with time and zodiacs and death. I need time. I need to find the connection-"

Two small hands reached his face, this caused the pinkette to stop talking. Instead, he looked at the girl before him who grinned with a big smile. But noticing the tears at the corners of her eyes, he knew better.

"Maybe there's treasure. Maybe there's gold and money. We won't know if we don't try." Slowly, she pulled her hands down to her lap, where they rested.

"What if something happens to you? I can't risk anything now, Lucy. I need to know things first before you put yourself out there. I need to take precautions and-"

The blonde shook her head and smiled at him.

"I can't always keep depending on you, Natsu. I need to stand on my two feet at some point." He stared at her before shaking his head,

"That won't do, Lucy. I need to reorganize my theories and find another loop. There's always another reason why something occurs. I just need time, Lucy." The blonde girl let out a small giggle. It was actually quite amusing to her seeing someone lose their cool.

This caught his attention fully. Was she even supposed to laugh at serious moments such as this? This girl was definitely weird in his books, she had unknowingly ticked all the boxes for the weird category.

"Weirdo..." He muttered under his breath, before getting slapped on the head.

"Says the one with the pink hair." She gritted back. Then they both let out a string of laughs.

A pulse.

Another pulse.

Immediately, both individuals turned their attention towards the small iron box that still laid untouched. There beside the box, was the unidentified photograph. The binder lay on the wooden desk and the sleeping girl still remained on the bed. The breeze blew again once more and the binder also flicked its pages onto the floor. Details and documents decorated the room.

"I've made my choice, Natsu." The blonde spoke. Reaching down and grabbing the box into her hands. The cold icy feeling against her skin made her shiver. She also stretched over the floorboard where she had dropped the set of golden keys.  
Taking a peek at the pink-haired male, he had also watched silently when she gathered the box and keys. Just before she inserted the keys into their respective keyholes, she turned her attention back to the male who sat in front of her.

"This is crazy. I've been wandering around this building for many years and finally, a pathway has been paved." She caressed the box. "Thank you, Natsu Dragneel. For the fun we had in this estate. It most certainly was the best time of my life." The pinkette placed a hand on top of hers.

"Geez, quit talking like that. You're sounding as if you're gonna disappear or something. And that won't look good on my report. I'm a detective, y'know. I find things. Not the opposite."

The blonde rolled her eyes.

"You are such a dolt." She smiled before gripping the keys. Until another hand covered them too. Her eyes darted questioningly to the male before her who stared down at both of their hands. Her mouth opened slightly with the sudden surprise of skin contact. Immediately, her face began to heat up due to their close proximity.

"Lucy... just be careful. Until I see you again, I'm going to make sure that this case will find it's well-deserved closure." The blonde laughed as he spoke. That sounded very detectively cliché. "And maybe, you can become my partner in crime." She had a small smile.

Slowly, she pushed all keys into their respective keyholes, turning them until she reached the last key. With one shaking hand, she looked back at the male who watched the entire facade. He had remained silent the entire time she had inserted the keys and finally, with the last key, with one more turn, she looked at Natsu with a determined gaze. They shared a look. They weren't too sure what will happen.

"I can't believe you spent so much time on this really. I don't even know why you bothered for so long." The male opposite chuckled.

"Because, weirdo, you're worth it."

* * *

"I guess this is it huh," Lucy said and the male smirked. It really was. The both of them knew it.

As she turned the last key and unlocked the hatch, a bright light suddenly escaped the box and blinded the occupants. Lucy tried adjusting her sight to the light but could barely make out anything. The entire room seemed to be engulfing in light. Golden light. A hot piercing feeling ran through the blonde's body until it felt numb to her.

Suddenly, two hands reached forward and grabbed her. Pulling the surprised blonde into a sensual kiss, her fingers went deathly still as her mind went crazy. Her eyes clamped shut and tears began to escape her lashes. Just as light had entered the room, darkness befell once more and the last thing she heard was her name being called.

* * *

He slowly opened his eyes. The beeping sound beside his bed slowly alerted the pink-haired male of his whereabouts and soon enough, his vision adjusted to his surroundings. He was in the hospital. His dark olive eyes darted around him, noting the many machines surrounded him and tubes and wires were connected to his body. A lot of bandages was also wrapped around his body, encasing the pinkette like cover and he realized that his body was excruciatingly in pain.

Taking note of the darkened room and the time on the clock beside his table, he mentally noted that it was already dark outside. Probably midnight, the pinkette haired thought.

Memories from the last time he saw the blonde Heartfilia heiress haunted his mind.

When Lucy opened the box, the sudden urge to kiss her seemed overpowering. The feeling of not seeing her again possibly had crept into his mind and he had grabbed her moments before _it_ happened. A spur of the moment really, but with feelings.  
It scared him.  
He was scared that he won't see her and because of that fear, he grabbed her with determination and kissed the heck out of her. Not even caring that it would probably be the last and he would probably end up alone again. It was always worth it when it came to her.

The light that filled the room that night had left him partially blinded. He remembered the light getting brighter by the second, if it was even possible. A large noise resonated in the estate and the building shook with intensity. A large explosion filled the room and he yelled her name as she had disappeared from his presence.

He let out a slight chuckle. Only to stop immediately as the sudden movement from laughing was causing a lot of pain. Suddenly, a sound of material rustled from beside him, mainly by the wall. Using his quick sense, he located the source of the sound. A smirk.

"You look absolutely pathetic."

* * *

"How long was I out?"

"Not long. Just a full month now." The pink-haired male groaned in response. He had missed a lot during that month. And the bills. He still had to pay for his rent and the food in the fridge have probably gone stale by now-

"We retrieved you from the rubble. Funnily enough, all your stuff had remained untouched. Your notebook, your phone and your bag. Yet everything else had been destroyed by the explosion. All that we had gathered from you is constrained at headquarters. Which reminds me, exceptional analysis and results, detective." Natsu was leaning against the headboard of the hospital bed. Listening to his boss talk about the explosion. He even seemed unfazed by the praise of his work.

"Is that all? Nothing was found?" He didn't look at the old man, who didn't answer his question.

Silence filled the hospital room and the ticking of the clock also occupied the dark room. The beeping of the machine beside the pink-haired male continued to resonate in the room.

"But... I do have a surprise for you. A well-earned surprise." This perked the pink-haired patient's ears. Suddenly, the wheels in his mind turned quickly and a sudden thought crossed his mind. He snapped his eyes to the old man in high expectation.

"Am I finally going to get a blue cat?" The old man gave a cheeky smile before shaking his head at the question.

"Nope. Even better. Follow me." And he turned to walk out of the room. Leaving the patient to himself in the dark.

Natsu glared at the old man walking away from him whilst a throbbing tick evident on his face.

"In case you had forgotten old man, I am stuck in the hospital bed with things stuck into my body and in pain. What kind of sadist tells an injured man, fresh from injuries, to follow him?" He said, gritting his teeth. The old man seemed unfazed by the comment but he stopped.

"You're not usually the type to be told to stay put, Natsu." And with that, the old man continued walking out of the room and then completely walking out of the ward. The pink haired male cursed before forcing his body to remove the wires and needles from his body, his mind screamed in agonizing pain when the movement caused his eyes to cringe intense throbbing and ache. He flicked off the sheet and slowly slipped out of bed. Just as he reached outside the ward, his eyes caught sight of the old man disappearing around the corner,

"I'm going to kick his ass soon." Natsu cursed as he limped across the halls. Ignoring the pain and hurt in his abdomen. At one point, the pain had become unbearable so he leant against the hospital walls. Their cool surface offering a soothing sensation to his body. Finally, he pulled himself together and limped onwards to the area where he last saw the old man walking.

At last, he rounded the final corner and viewed the old man standing in front of a glass windowpane with his arms crossed behind his back. Ignoring the signs around the ward, the pink-haired man limped angrily to the old man and grabbed him by the collar,

"Now look here, old man, I don't care if you're over a hundred years old but you've been putting me through a lot of shit. My own legs are just about to fall off and my hands feels like I've put them in a grinder. At least help me dammit, instead of waltzing around corners." The old man didn't even look at him, pissing off the detective.

"For Mavis sake-"His attention drew to what the old man was looking at. His mouth slackened and his grip on the old man lessened, instead, his arm fell to his sides with widened eyes.

Inside the room was another person attached with beeping machines and tubes attached to the body. Various bandages covered the body but the face remained uncovered, hair decorated the pillows like little crowns, and the entire room was covered with flowers and gifts. Slowly, Natsu drew his eyes to the door that stated the number of the room and the name of the occupying patient. And of course, the name on the plaque confirmed his questions.

"Lucy..."

"She asked for you as soon as she woke up. Just a few days ago, she was declared dead but somehow, miraculously, her heart pulsed as soon as the doctors and nurses were going to pull the life support. She's a stubborn one. It was almost as if she was fighting to breath." Natsu placed a hand on the glass window.

"Quite frankly, I'm surprised that this was the same Lucy Heartfilia that was rumoured to have disappeared. It's been many years since we brought the Heartfilia case into light." The old man reached up to scratch an itch on his beard,

"But otherwise, I'm quite happy with the success of this strange quest. I've never really came across anything similar in context in my line of profession. I'm still in utter belief that the woman in this room-"

"Is alive and well in the flesh." Natsu finished it off. That was the exact words that she said to him when they first met. The old man glanced at the pink-haired man beside him.

"Yes." The old man replied.

"It surely is one of the strangest cases' I've ever come across."

* * *

 **Hi guys!**

 **I apologize for the late uploading of the final chapter. I had accidentally deleted my actual chapter (so I had to rewrite the entire thing based off memory). I'm absolutely dejected that I caused such a prolonged delay. I was only supposed to edit some stuff but I probably clicked something else, and then next thing I know, the entire document on fanfiction was gone.**

 **The names mentioned about greek mythology is true. I'm not actually making names up and their characteristics.**

 **I will also be uploading the chapters for my two other stories this week. So look forward to that as well.**

 **Lots of love,**

 **B7K**


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